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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Throwback Thursday! #IndieThursday

The internet takes a step back in time every Thursday as people around the world share old baby pictures, vintage prom and wedding photos, and other assorted oldies. Authors can share too! This Thursday meme highlights those books in your backlist.

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In wolf form, Himiin could do nothing to convey his fears to the maiden. He whimpered as she packed moss into his wound. Her touch lightened like the flutter of an evening wind caressing his skin. “Did I hurt you?” she asked, gazing into his eyes, giving him a glimpse of her caring and strength. Her warm fingers gently held his leg.“Wren.” The maiden standing at the far side of the trees danced with agitation. “Silly One, I am in no danger. Besides, I would rather die on this mountain than have to marry a Blackleg.”

Her words sent a knife of fear slicing through the calm her hands had wrapped around him. Who would make her marry a schemer? And why? This new information made him even more anxious about the intruding wolf. This maiden, whose touch ignited emotions he’d never known before, brought out his protective instincts. He had questions for her and no way to ask. To change form in front of the women or speak to them as an animal was forbidden by the Creator. He pulled his paw from her hands and backed away with a snarl. He should not treat her this way after the care and trust she’d put in him, but in this form he had no other way to show his objection to her marrying a Blackleg.

from Between a Rock & a Mad WomanExcerpt:Peter walked up to Madeline, all the way across the room, before she emerged from her shock. He stopped in front of her and looked at her without smiling. It was his signature unreadable face. She looked around and saw that he was unaccompanied by any of his staff. Neither was there any media riffraff.“I liked your speech,” he said. He continued to stare at her. The room was still.Now what? She could feel the pinpricks of stares from everyone in the room. There was only one thing to do at a time like this. Lower the boom.“Everyone. You know Peter John Douglas, my opponent in our campaign for governor?” Madeline looked around at their faces. She took a deep breath.“He and I are old friends. Six years ago we were engaged to be married.”AMAZONStephanie Queen Website

Hi! This snippet is from my small town contemporary romance FIRST AND AGAIN, published in October 2013. Bridget has been forced to move back to her small hometown and things are not going well:

Bridget glanced at the horrified expression on her sister’s face. In a moment of weakness, she’d phoned and confided the circumstances of her divorce to Celia. How could Tina have known Ben had left her for a woman fifteen years younger unless Celia had told her? Was this how sisters treated each other? Did one betray confidences and then sit back and watch while the other was publicly humiliated and ridiculed?

She could never trust her again.

Gavin coughed self-consciously. He and the others at the table appeared uncomfortable, but she was past caring about anyone else’s discomfort. Anger welled up inside her, anger at Tina, at Celia, at Ben, at the world in general.

“It’s okay, Jack. Tina’s right. My husband did dump me for a younger woman. But hey, my life’s an open book. Maybe there are other details of my personal life you’d like to discuss. Perhaps you want to know my bra size or maybe my bank account balance, though I’ve got to warn you, neither is very big. Go ahead, ask me anything.”

They stared at each other for what seemed like ages until Tina shook her head, looking chastised.

“You’re right, it’s none of my business,” she said, sounding remorseful. “I just wondered what brought you back to Paradise after all these years.”

There were many reasons for coming home—poverty, hopelessness, a broken heart. But she had no intention of baring her soul to Tina Wilson.

“I came back to Paradise because I need some space. And plenty of privacy.”

The glasses clinked together as she haphazardly loaded them into the dishwasher behind the bar. One night in Paradise and she’d already been humiliated. Welcome home, Bridget. If she had enough money for gas and if she thought her old Chevy could withstand the return trip, she’d pack up her daughter and their few meager possessions and head back to San Francisco. Why on earth had she ever come back here?

At the sound of rustling in the trees, she spun, squinting in the dimness. A cloaked figure crouched in the shadows of wild shrubs. Stifling a scream, she threw her skirts over her arm and raced toward the town square. Terrified of stopping, she didn't pause to glance over her shoulder, though she heard heavy footsteps and the rasp of another's breath close behind her. Hoof beats sounded in the distance. Katherine imagined the killer's accomplice galloping toward her on a dark, fiery-eyed steed, ready to carry her body deep into the woods. She tried to leap across a narrow brook, but her boot slipped on the wet rocks. Screaming, she crashed into the muddy water, fully expecting her stalker to fall upon her.

The horse shrieked and its cloaked rider leapt off its back before it came to a complete stop. Hands covered in black gloves reached for her. She slashed at them with the scissors. Her attacker caught her wrist before the scissors struck home. The hood fell from dark hair streaked auburn in the moonlight. Dark eyes flashed at her from beneath arched brows. Katherine gasped. Alister St. Augustine's fine lips narrowed into a grim line. His face looked ghostly against the darkness of his cloak.

"Be still," he ordered, squeezing her wrist in his steely grip until she dropped the scissors. "Who was chasing you?"

"I don't know. You just lost my best cutting shears in the bottom of this brook!"

"Sorry, but I don't take kindly to nearly being stabbed."

"If you didn't frighten a helpless woman walking alone on a dark night, then you'd be in no danger of that."

"I would hardly call you helpless." He stood and offered her his hand.

Crystal shimmied down the drainpipe with her trophies tucked inside her backpack and computer files loaded onto her USB, hung around her neck disguised as a locket. This was too easy. She landed on the concrete with a thump, then removed her mask. Usually she worked at night when the catering gig didn’t provide the necessary cover, but she had a date this evening. A blind date. Her sister’s fiancée had called earlier that day to let them know his cousin from Texas would join them for dinner and would Crystal come along? As far as Crystal was concerned, it was the closest thing she’d come to as a real date in a long time. She’d take it. Thunder boomed as she weaved through alleys, stinking of rotting food and urine. She barely made it to her car before thunder rumbled. Crystal checked the time on the dashboard, almost seven. No time to waste. Paul and his cousin, Kade, were picking up her and her sister at seven-thirty. Her car hummed to life as she stashed her backpack behind her seat. The stolen cash, including a diamond necklace, lay inside. Hopefully the money and necklace would throw off Westridge’s Sales Manager to the fact that computer information had been the real prize. For now, another piece of the puzzle to exonerate their dad and lock Westridge away lay on her chest inside her locket. She whipped into traffic and hit the wipers as fat drops of rain slapped against the windshield. Great. Ahead, a red light flickered as taxis and cars lined up behind it. She debated taking Ninth, but decided against it. Construction was still ongoing and traffic would be worse than this. Maybe squeezing in a job before dinner wasn’t such a great idea. Andrea R. Cooper Amazon Page